Spring Wildflowers And Other Scenery In The San Bernardino Mountains

The view of Luna Mountain in the distance and senecio douglasi flowers in the background.

Beautiful spring mountain flowers are something that everyone can enjoy, or at least everyone I know. If you hate wildflowers, then this hub might not be the place for you! Although I might not be a botanist, this does not prevent me from enjoying the beauty of wildflowers on a nature walk in the San Bernardino Mountains. Over the last couple of days, I have been endeavoring to identify as many of the flowers as I can from my photographs, but this is a slightly difficult task since classifying flowers are not something I have a great deal of background in. I know what I enjoy looking at, and this is how I approach my examination of beautiful flowers. Taking pictures of beautiful things is inspirational, and some of these photographs might become future paintings and drawings.

Most people traveling to the San Bernardino Mountains are coming from cities to the west, such as Los Angeles, so this map will help you plan your routes accordingly. If you do not drive and are a bit more adventurous, you can even take the bus up the mountain, and ride your bike to locations to view wild flowers. There are many areas where wild flowers can be spotted in the San Bernardino Mountains, and hiking on various trails will allow you to see a variety of scenery, and certain common flowers to the region.

Only the a few miles of Highway 173 past Lake Arrowhead are paved.

Up three years ago Highway 173 was the last open and unpaved highway in California, but the unimproved section of the road has since been closed to traffic. However, you can still park in areas before the closed portion of the road and go hiking instead. I was never a fan of driving up and down that vertigo-inducing dirt road with its hairpin turns, and taking a hike to look at the wildflowers is more my speed. Besides, when you take a hike you can enjoy the beautiful scenery, and that is not something I could easily do back in the days when my dad liked to go four-wheeling on nearby caterpillar road, which winds around just like its name-sake.

Looking up on a hill with wooly sunflowers.

The senecio douglasii are a type of native sunflower. | Source

Salvia columbariae also known as the chia has violet-blue colored flowers. | Source

A boulder with the view of the high desert. | Source

The interesting texture of a boulder. | Source

Standing on a boulder and poised for a short hike. | Source

Looking down on a small cluster of senecio douglasii. | Source

Looking at the backside of the Pinnacles with the yellow senecio douglasii flowers in the foreground. | Source

Cocoon with caterpillars in it. | Source

Here is another picture of the caterpillars in the cocoon. | Source

Another shot of the cocoon with caterpillars in it. | Source

I just mentioned how I detested the days back when my father used to like to go four-wheeling on caterpillar road, so is it not a bit coincidental that I also took pictures of a cocoon of caterpillars on that day. I would rather look at this cocoon of interesting caterpillars than ever drive on that road again. I was not sad when they closed that road.

Little yellow flowers with a bit of fuzz. Not sure what the fuzzy textured stuff is. | Source

Baby blue eye flowers scattered about. | Source

The baby blue eye flowers are dainty and sweet. | Source

A small cactus plant. | Source

Closeup photograph of Mount Luna. | Source

Looking down on a couple of patches of yellow flowers, which are the senecio douglasi flower. | Source

Patches of senecios douglasii abound. | Source

A magnificent cluster of my new favorite flowers, which are yellow and sunshiny. | Source

Looking up towards the backside of the Pinnacles. | Source

Walking through a clearing with chaparral and wild flowers. | Source

A little white daisy. | Source

Another photo of the little white daisy. | Source

The little white daisy is beautiful in nature. | Source

The little white daisy is hard to spot, unless you are looking at nature closely. | Source

A view of the dirt portion of Highway 173 in the distance, with some chaparral in the foreground. | Source